GoldLink Has A New Agenda For His Sophomore LP: “My Biggest Influence Is My City”

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Within the few short years of his career, GoldLink has learned to own every stage that he steps foot on no matter what city he’s in. His aura gleams brightly with peaceful yet exuberant vibes in front of every massive, diverse crowd that he faces.

When GoldLink visits your city, the Washington D.C. native expels his positive energy as noble gifts, which can either relax your mind or make you gyrate your body against the person next to you.

As the headliner of Day 2 of Red Bull Sound Select’s 3 Days In Miami, the soulful artist fulfilled these expectations with an uplifting performance that the people of Dade County were hoping for. The 1306 venue in Downtown Miami was jam-packed with fans of the DMV rapper as well as New Orleans rapper Pell and local crooner Twelve’Len. While his set was in the heart of Miami, Goldlink’s mind and soul will always be at home in the DMV.

“My biggest influence is my city,” Goldlink told VIBE before his set. “There’s so much there. We have our own lingo, food, music and culture. Growing up in that city and seeing so many different personalities and hearing so many stories, it completely 100% shaped me into the person that I’ve turned into.”

For the unfamiliar, D’Anthony Carlos a.k.a. GoldLink officially began his journey in music after graduating high school in Maryland when he was recording and dropping singles on Soundcloud in 2013. The 23-year-old attracted the world’s attention after releasing his debut mixtape The God Complex back in 2014. He managed to pique the interest of the legendary Rick Rubin in 2015, and began to collaborate with him in the studio. Later that same year, GoldLink impressed the masses with his debut album After That, We Didn’t Talk.

Since signing to RCA Records last year, GoldLink has surrounded himself with extraordinary talent to cook up some very noteworthy tunes. After working with the likes of Canadian band BADBADNOTGOOD and revered producer Kaytranada, the kid is back in the studio working on his sophomore LP. At the top of the year, the “Unique” rapper released his first single of 2017 entitled “Rough Soul.” The heatfelt song is based on a past fling that he had with a former lover. Although the single has garnered a decent buzz, Goldlink claims his forthcoming album, which remains untitled at the moment, will be “completely away from that.”

“It’s more about the city and where I’m from,” he said. “I feel like even just like in general the DMV artist are not really slept on, but they’re slept on because there’s no history of where it comes from. For example, if 21 savage comes out its so interesting because we’ve seen Atlanta do this over and over again. Their support system is so strong but we don’t have that in D.C. so it’s like people don’t understand how much we influence everyone and everybody, but we don’t get any credit for it. So the project is really talking about the history of where I’m from and talking about it in so many different tones and lights. The point of the matter is making parallels so that it’s a worldlier concept.”

Within the last year, GoldLink has ascended to a new level while representing a wave of hip-hop that stems from pure originality. In 2017, he plans to continue delivering the culture and sounds from his city to other places across the country during his upcoming spring tour — with special appearances from Little Dragon, Kaytranada, and Miami’s own Denzel Curry.

After his warm-up in Miami, the emcee will travel to 13 major cities and plans to bring the spirit of D.C. with him, beginning with his inaugural performance at Coachella in April. He’s more than excited, but still can’t help but feel the anxiety of being homesick.

“It’s something that I’m still trying to cope with,” said GoldLink. “I just love home. I just attached to it since I grew up there my entire life. I don’t really know anything outside of it. I’m just trying to cope with the feeling of not being home.”

GoldLink acted as if he had zero cares in the world during his performance at 3 Days. He seamlessly performed records off The God Complex like “Bedtime Story” and “Sober Thoughts” and truly touched his day-one fans as they sang every lyric with him. He also delivered an energetic rendition of his latest single “Rough Soul,” which had the audience roaring with approval.

“The best thing I can do is make the best music I possibly can so that we can go as far as we can, and then point the arrow back to where it came from,” GoldLink said. “I’m trying to spread my message that I’m trying to get across and convey it clearly.”

Catch a brief recap of Day 2 of Red Bull Sound Select’s “3 Days In Miami” below.